


safe and solid

by renrobot (ambiguousMagic)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Autistic Indrid, Fluff, M/M, Slow Dancing, autistic duck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 09:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17403989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguousMagic/pseuds/renrobot
Summary: Aubrey tricks Duck and Indrid into slow dancing at a friend's wedding.indruck server allows me to take mundane life experiences and turn them alchemy-like into gay shit





	safe and solid

**Author's Note:**

> hi i was at a fancy ball and instead of socializing i thought about indruck
> 
> the autism stuff all comes from personal experience
> 
> signed, your local autistic gay

It was a wedding that seemingly had the entire town attending. Duck knew the bride and groom, of course, but he didn’t know they’d gotten around as much. Because Aubrey and Ned were there, along with a scattered few others from Amnesty Lodge. And when Duck’s natural and supernatural lives mixed like this, he tended to get uncomfortable. And awkward.

 

It didn’t help that he’d opted to bring Indrid as his plus one. They’d been together for some months now and after a slip-up at the general store, the entire town caught the news like wildfire. As expected for a small town. Unexpected, though, was the near lack of dissent he saw when people knew he was dating a man. A man who had been reclusive and odd when he went into town. A man who only bought sugary drinks and the occasional dollar brand snack on his few outings.

 

Indrid was slowly becoming used to being In Town. He met Duck for dates sometimes at the coffee shop, where he’d only order hot chocolate with extra syrup and he’d cram as many sugar packets he could get his hands on into the cup when he thought Duck wasn’t looking. They went to the diner often in an attempt to get Indrid to eat some semblance of real food. Duck managed to get fries and grilled cheese sandwiches added to the Indrid-approved list of foods. Duck slowly accepted that he could walk holding Indrid’s hand in public.

 

But Indrid hadn’t been to an event like this, one with these many people that he didn’t know. He assured Duck he would be fine as long as he brought headphones and plenty of paper so he could block out the noise and draw if he got overstimulated. Duck was no stranger to shutdowns and he’d brought his own headphones (he forwent his weighted shoulder pad because Indrid was adamant that if needed, he could rest on Duck’s shoulders for pressure stimming). Still, Duck had a heavy pit in his stomach as the reception rolled on and socializing became a necessity.

 

Indrid had been quietly warning Duck when people would walk up and talk to them. The system worked well because it gave Duck a few seconds to get his scripts in order and be prepared to introduce Indrid to people they didn’t see around town. So, when Indrid whispered, “Incoming,” Duck thought nothing of it. Until it was Aubrey’s deceptively chipper face that entered his view.

 

“Duck! Indrid!” Aubrey had learned that hugs and the like were asked for not assumed, and she didn’t seem discouraged at the pair’s refusal of her offer. “I haven’t seen either of you out on the dance floor! We need to fix that. Right now. Immediately.” There was urgency in Aubrey’s voice and Duck was having none of it.

 

“Aubrey, I really can’t dance. At all. I’d rather not make a fool of myself in front of the whole town.” He hadn’t regained any balance from the Incident that no one spoke of, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to test it now.

 

“But!” She seemed to scramble for words, trying to form a cohesive sentence. “I think... it’s very important that right now. You two should dance. Together.”

 

Duck was about to object again when Indrid chimed in. “I wouldn’t mind dancing. I don’t claim to have any skill at modern moves like Aubrey has,” (Aubrey snickered), “But I’ve been known to take to the dance floor a few times in my life.” Indrid caught Duck’s gaze. And thank god Indrid was good at not needing Duck to use words because he set a reassuring hand on Duck’s thigh. “We can go to a corner, away from the speakers.”

 

Duck looked between the two of them before he stood up, however reluctantly, and nodded. Indrid was up shortly after he was. Aubrey looked like they’d agreed to give her a million dollars.

 

“Come on then! I’m not leaving until I see you to the floor myself.”

 

Indrid grabbed Duck’s hand in his. An anchor and familiar sensation that eased some tension in Duck’s shoulders. Indrid seldom had to ask Duck for permission to touch and vice versa; the stimulation made both of them feel grounded. And they were following Aubrey, who was also a familiar presence that shooed her friends (though they exchanged high fives that made Duck extra suspicious) into the same corner Indrid was talking about. Duck didn’t really know how to appreciate safe people until he was surrounded by them.

 

Aubrey and her friends left enough room between all of them to not make either Duck or Indrid uncomfortable and cornered, and Duck wasn’t sure what to do with the contemporary music playing. It sounded like the song was coming to an end, though, and Duck hoped that the next one would be something he recognized.

 

And it was, but it was slow.

 

And Aubrey was grinning and high fiving her friends again, and Duck knew _exactly_ what her plan was.

 

Couples began to pair off, swaying with the song. Aubrey and her friends decided to follow a trio of young kids and all join hands to dance together and not leave anyone out. Duck felt panic rise in his throat; he didn’t have scripts for this. But it was eased when he felt Indrid’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“I think we can follow everyone else and be fine,” Indrid reassured Duck, slowly bringing them closer until Duck’s arms were wrapped around Indrid’s waist and Indrid’s arms were looped around Duck’s neck. Duck felt a different panic settle in, the anxiety of PDA. Gay PDA. And Indrid knew, “Close your eyes. Just move with me for a bit.”

 

The loss of visual stimulation allowed Duck to focus better on everything else. The song was something romantic, a classic couple’s dance. He could still taste too-sweet frosting from the cake. There was a faint undercurrent of alcohol in the air from the bar and wine. And he had lanky arms resting on his shoulders. Reassuring, steadying, holding.

 

When Duck opened his eyes, he knew Indrid was looking at him. He could faintly see red eyes through redder glasses, and his gaze settled comfortably on Indrid’s mouth. They were swaying, simple rocking back and forth.

 

“Okay?” Indrid took the nod instead of words, so much harder to make when he was in unfamiliar territory.

 

They kept at it and Duck found it easier and easier to tune other stimuli out in favor of focusing on the little bubble they’d created in the corner. He let the music in, to time their swaying, but he primarily focused on the touch. Indrid’s waist bending ever so slightly when they switched directions. The push-pull of his breathing that made it easier for Duck to keep breathing. His arms, still steady, still putting pressure on his shoulders.

 

When Duck found words, he smiled. “This feels nice.” Their chests were pressed together at this point, Indrid’s head falling forward to rest their foreheads against one another. He was smiling and he could see Indrid’s matching grin and he could feel the nod that came after.

 

And they were swaying, slowly, steady. Breathing slowly, steady. Arms around each other, steady.

 

Duck wasn’t sure how he managed to find himself lovestruck at a wedding, dancing with his boyfriend. And he didn’t question it further, allowing himself to slide back into the soft space they’d made.


End file.
